The present invention relates generally to sound altering apparatus used on drums and more particularly to an apparatus for dampening drum vibrations while simultaneously deepening drum tones.
A wide number of apparatus have been used for the purpose of altering the sound produced by a drum. For the most part, these apparatus are associated with the batter head of a drum and alter the length and quality of the drum tone by changing the vibration characteristics of the drum batter head.
One type of device known as a muffler is used to substantially limit the amplitude of vibration produced in the drum head so that drum may be used for practicing without producing a great amount of sound. One such device is described in Lebow U.S. Pat. No. 2,078,004 which describes a batter pad member formed of rubber and reinforced by metal band around its periphery and attached to a rigid base plate. Hanger arms are hinged to the anchoring plate and are providing with bent fingers upon which are mounted resilient pads with sleeves which in turn fit over the rim of the shell of the drum. The batter pad member is positioned at the center of the drum and provides a muffling effect on the drum head during practice.
Another muffler for a percussion instrument is illustrated in Payson U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,850. This muffler includes a supple material which is situated contiguous to the head of the drum, one or more elastic strips to maintain the supple material in contiguous relationship of the drum head, and a cord situated to selectively withdraw successive portions of the supple material from contiguous relationship to the drum head in order to alter the degree of muffling produced. The supple material may be felt, fir, or other soft flexible material. The supple material lies adjacent only a portion of the drum head bounded by a cord. The cord is attached to the top of the supple material and is located so that as the cord is tensioned successive portions of the supple material are selectively withdrawn from contiguous relationship to the drum head.
A device for reducing drum head ring is described by Hardy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,281 which discloses a body of porous pliable material such as polyester foam which is disposed within the drum shell and reacts with the drum membrane or batter head. An adhesive layer is disposed on the body for attaching the body to the drum shell. The body may be of a single segment or a plurality of segments each in contact with the membrane and disposed adjacent to each other around the inner surface of the drum shell.
Hardy U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,280 discloses a device for deadening drum heads to reduce the ringing phenomena associated with synthetic membranes in which a plurality of bodies of porous pliable material are disposed around the preferred attack area of the drum membrane. Each of the bodies has an adhesive layer on one surface and the adhesive layer is used to attach the body to the drum head membrane. The bodies may be circular, square, or rectangular.
Hardy U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,266 describes a drum head deadening devise in which a body of porous pliable material has an adhesive layer on one surface and the adhesive layer is used to attach the body to a drum head membrane. An opening is disposed in the body to correspond to an attack area of the drum membrane.
LaPorta, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,032 describes a timpani drum which uses a remote push-pull control cable to control a dampening plate. The dampening plate is contained in a sleeve that is secured to the shell of the drum by brackets. The bracket may be varied in length which permits alteration of the degree to which the bracket extends to the center of the drum from the shell wall. The dampening plate may be urged against the underside of the drum membrane to terminate its vibration or to mute a blow to the membrane. The associated cable mechanism may be operated by foot.
Meriwether U.S. Pat. No. 2,572,504 discloses a lever actuated drum tone modulator which includes a lever pivotally mounted on a bracket with modulating pads mounted in another bracket with stems on the outer ends on which the pads are carried. The pads are slidably in the bracket and are biased inwardly by springs. Powered movement of the lever draws a cam between the stems thereby forcing modulating pads outwardly and into engagement with opposite drum heads. When it is desired to release the drum heads, the actuating lever is moved inwardly whereby the springs draw the pads away from the drum heads.
The particular type of apparatus which is associated with a drum batter head or with a drum shell may affect the sound produced by the drum in a number of ways. It may lower the amplitude of the sound produced. It may tend to dampen the vibrations of either the drum head or the drum shell. It may tend to increase or decrease the frequency of the tones produced in the drum head. It may tend to increase or decrease certain types of overtones in the drum sound. Generally it will provide a combination of these and other effects.
It is generally desirable in studio type work to produce a rich deep drum tone sound with a limited amount of ringing and other secondary relatively long duration affects. However, drum muffling devices used in the past which have been effective to reduce ringing and the like have also tended to deaden the tone produced by the drum.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a drum muffling device which eliminates ringing and other undesirable attenuation effects and which simultaneously provides a deep fully developed drum tone.
It is also among the objects of the present invention to provide a drum muffling device which may be used with a single batter head or with double batter heads.
It is also among the objects of the invention to provide a drum muffling device which may be quickly inserted or removed from a drum head as a modular unit.
It is also among the objects of the invention to provide a drum head muffling device which may be integrally built with a drum.
It is also among the objects of the invention to provide a drum head muffling device which utilizes a floating suspension system to provide relatively continuous momentum transferring contact between the drum head and a muffling device without limiting the range of vibrational movement of the drum head and without unnecessarily interrupting the free span of the drum head with fixed structure.